FON, Time Warner deal confirmed — It has been more than twenty days since we reported that FON, the share-your-Wi-Fi service company was in talks with Time Warner Cable. Today, a news report from Associated Press confirms the deal and adds, that Time Warner Cable "will let its home broadband customers turn …

Switch on for Square Mile wi-fi — The City of London has fired up its first mesh wi-fi network, promising net access from just about anywhere in the Square Mile. — The area in London is not just Europe's leading financial centre - it is said to be the continent's most advanced wireless network too.

Google beats Microsoft, Coke in brand stakes — Google has knocked Microsoft off the top spot and been named the most powerful global brand of 2007 in a recently published ranking. — It's the second year in a row a tech brand has beaten household names such as Coca-Cola, Marlboro and Toyota.

GOOGLE: The world's most cost-effective brand — Last week's termination of Froogle, one of Google's most unfortunate brands, prompted cackles from marketing sophisticates. The rubes at the Googleplex really ought to hire some professionals, wrote Owen Thomas of Business 2.0.

Bring it on, iTunes: Amazon readying DRM-free music service — Amazon could be the next major name to dive into the world of unprotected music sales. Various rumors have been picking up over the past couple of weeks that the online retailer was readying itself to launch an MP3 download store in May …

New Model for Sharing: Free Music With Ads — For years, music labels have been trying to prevent fans from downloading their songs on peer-to-peer file-sharing networks. Now, some of them would like to encourage people to listen to music that way — provided they view some advertising first.

Cell-phone lemon law sought by legislator — SPRINGFIELD — The first time her new Motorola Q phone went on the fritz, she thought it was a fluke. When her phone had to be replaced a second time, she got frustrated. — When it malfunctioned a third time, Rep. Susana Mendoza was fed up.

"Catch And Release" Business Models — As the success of sites such as MySpace, Facebook, LinkedIn, Classmates, and Geni have demonstrated, viral marketing can be a very effective tool to help build social networks that appeal to a wide range of people for a number of different reasons.

TV news of the future? — Here's a mockup of how TV news may work in the future. — How I came up with this view... I was drinking coffee, watching the morning news when a story about Virginia Tech came on MSNBC. I really wanted to begin this week without more stories about how they're coping.

Direct the New Modest Mouse Video — Rather than paying for an editor, Modest Mouse' label Epic is tapping the power of a horde of internerd hipstards through a contest sponsored by Apple. Download the provided footage of Modest Mouse rockin' out against a green screen backdrop, make movie magic, and upload it to Apple by May 22.

Comparison Shop from the Store with Frucall — It always sucks to buy something in a store, come home, and realize that it was available online or at another store for $50 less. You bonehead. Way to do your research. — Well, a service called Frucall will allow you to be impulsive yet still protect yourself from overpaying.

SAP Sapphire gets underway — This week I am in Atlanta for SAP's Sapphire conference, joined by a large international press contingent, the blogger corps and 15,000 partners and customers ready to hear the latest SAP revelations. So far, not much news to report, but some details …

Blu-ray burning its high-def DVD rival — LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Of the high-definition discs bought by consumers in the first quarter, 70% were in the Blu-ray Disc format and 30% were HD DVD, according to sales figures provided by trade publication Home Media Magazine.